Neighbors reportedly watched gratefully Aug. 14 and 15 as city crews gathered at 555 Camden to demolish a vacant building in violation of the city’s dangerous building ordinance. After a day and a half of work, only a leveled field remains.
“Now there is a nice fresh lot to promote development,” said Dublin Police Chief Cameron Ray who aided in the work.
City Council held a public hearing on the property June 24 and voted to move forward with the demolition.
Dublin Police Chief Cameron Ray said this was no snap decision though. “I have been here about eight years and there has been some violations posted on that house consistently,” he said.
Ray said the introduction of Texas Communities Group, the Lubbockbased business recently voted by the council to handle the city’s delinquent tax collections and substandard structures, helped the processalot. (Councilapproveda contract in February after Revitalize Dublin introduced them in an earlier meeting.)
Ray said the work moved seamlessly thanks to collaboration with the PD, city administration, public works and TCG. “I think the city is in a better place with cohesion,” Ray said. “Everyone jumps in to help.”
Work began Aug. 14 after Atmos marked off gas lines to prevent accidents. City equipment then began setting up with the resulting noise helping to clear the scene.
“I saw 3 to 4 stray cats run out from under the house,” said Ray.
This highlights part of the reason for demolition to him. “It’s a health and safety issue,” he said of substandard homes left vacant. “They invite strays and criminal activity. Demolition is only being considered by the city on unoccupied homes in extreme cases.”
Ray added the goal is dealing with code issues is always compliance, saying the city will work with property owners as long as improvement is being made and issues are being resolved.
Since the work was completed by city staff during working hours with city equipment, the cost to the city was little. This was also aided by Waste Connection Services, which helped with a container and transportation of materials to the dump.
“There was no overtime associated with the work,” Ray added.
The cost is put into a lien on the property which the owners will have to pay off before deciding what they want to do.
Ray said they had multiple neighbors state their appreciation as the lot was cleaned and cleared. He is hopeful efforts like this will continue to spur improvement in the community.
“All it takes is a little bit of change and it motivates more,” he said.
The city does plan on continuing its code enforcement efforts to make Dublin a safer place to live for all.